LEADERS of Amerindian communities from across Guyana will have an opportunity to address and evaluate the conditions affecting Guyana’s first peoples and development in their communities, among other issues, next Wednesday, during the 2014 National Toshaos Conference (NTC).This was according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, at a news conference yesterday, held at the Office of the President.
NTC 2014 will be hosted under the theme: “Harnessing the power of leadership.”
The HPS disclosed that over 200 Amerindians will gather at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC),Liliendaal,Greater Georgetown, for the event when they will also have an opportunity to engage Government ministers and other key officials on areas of concern.
Dr. Luncheon stated too that there will also be strong focus on engaging the state of the communities’ economies and improving economic activity, in the interest of further improving Amerindians’ standards of living in Guyana.
The last such conference was held last October, an event that was deemed a major success, since the 2013 NTC made it possible for Amerindian leaders to communicate closely with the leaders of the current administration.
Also, last year, two resolutions were near unanimously adopted during the course of the conference. One dealt with the early determination by the judicial system of outstanding land issues and the second dealt with the negative impact on Amerindian welfare and development that was caused by unfair decisions of political parties.Community Development Projects (CDPs), Presidential Grants, Amerindian Land Titling Projects and the Opt-in Mechanism for Amerindian villages and communities were other highlights of the deliberations.
Additionally, ahead of this year’s one-week national conference, Regional Toshaos Conferences were held across the country.
The meeting, held annually to provide the platform for dialogue and forward planning for development of Amerindian communities, includes an agenda with the focus on the report of the NTC executive.

(Vanessa Narine)